At Faculty of Civil Engineering in Subotica, students create model of wall which can help when temperatures are high

Students at the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Subotica, within the practical education within the optional course “Traditional Materials”, have made the model of a wall which could be a potential answer to the climate changes caused by some of the biggest disasters – heatwaves and devastating earthquakes. The use of natural materials and traditional principles of construction, the kinds that have been used for centuries back, could be a solution, they say at the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

Civil engineers have been warning for decades now that the principles of construction and insulation which have been used for the past seventy years or so in the majority of the world, including our country, will not be adequate in the case of an increase in temperatures, which are already exceeding 40 degrees, but also in the case of seismic activities, clarifies professor Milan Kekanovic from the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

He sees a solution in traditional ways of construction and natural materials, the kinds that were used in the past, and which modern civil engineering has forgotten.

– Simply, the walls will have to be built the way they were build several hundred or thousand years ago, except with modern materials, where a wall does not have to be 60 cm or one meter thick, it can be 40 cm, like this wall is. It would be capable of fully air-conditioning the space in that natural way – says professor Dr Milan Kekanovic, a regular professor at the Faculty of Civil Engineering.

From the economic aspect, the use of traditional, natural materials and construction according to the principles that the students and professor Kekanovic researched would be a cheaper option compared to the standard way of construction.

– Such walls are cheaper than the ones being built today. It’s a thermal insulation material, sound insulation material, vapor permeable, which means that it is capable of air-conditioning, it is fire-proof, but it is not load-bearing. The load-bearing property is achieved with vertical columns featuring regular concretes, so this wall model allows for the construction of a building of 10-15 floors. Everything is fulfilled, natural air-conditioning and sound insulation, fire protection, the load-bearing property and, what’s interesting, a remarkable resilience to earthquakes – adds the professor.

It was precisely that type of construction that was the subject of the research which involved second- and third-year students who are attending the optional course “Traditional Materials”. Together with the professor, they have created the model of a wall which would be resilient to natural disasters, thanks to which we would get safe houses and buildings.

Građevinski fakultet Subotica

Faculty of Civil Engineering Subotica

Milan Kekanović

Dušan Vučković

wall which can help when temperatures are high

wall resilient to natural disasters

natural materials

traditional construction